Classic American West Coast Boxing

[THEHAMMER321]

On the boxers of the past thread, someone is asking who the best Chinese heavyweights were ?, that's like asking who were the only straight male hair dressers ? are there any

[Rick Farris]

On the boxers of the past thread, someone is asking who the best Chinese heavyweights were ?, that's like asking who were the only straight male hair dressers ? are there any

Chinese heavyweights?

[Rick Farris]

One story I heard says a lot about him, I think. He was supposedly at some kind of boxing event, and a group of people had gathered around him as he regaled them with comments about the great Cuban fighters of the past. After a few minutes of this, one of his listeners piped up and said, "I haven't heard you say anything about Jose Legra." Stallone's face went blank, and it was clear he'd never heard of Legra. But instead of trying to cover up his lack of knowledge in some way, he responded, "I've never heard of him. Would you mind telling us about him?" Then he listened intently to what the man had to say, asked him a few appropriate questions, and thanked him for sharing the information. In my experience, most blowhards wouldn't do that.

It probably isn't easy being Sylvester Stallone's brother.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well since there seems to be some debate, let me just say with candor that he isn't the worst guy in the world.
He's just a common jack-ass, plain and simple.

[Randyman]

On the boxers of the past thread, someone is asking who the best Chinese heavyweights were ?, that's like asking who were the only straight male hair dressers ? are there any

Chinese heavyweights?

The trouble with Chinese heavyweights is, you knock one out and in a half hour your ready to knock one out again.

[kikibalt]

Original basketball rules are for sale
December 10, 2010
latimes.com


Rules_500

A physical education instructor named James Naismith invented the game of basketball 119 years ago as a winter activity for a YMCA in Springfield, Mass.

He conjured up 13 rules, typed them out and scribbled some handwritten notes on the document. There were to be nine players on each team, a soccer ball instead of a basketball and peach baskets as hoops.

The papers are being sold Friday at a New York City auction. The presale estimate is $2 million. [Updated at 11:58 a.m.: The Naismith Rules have been sold for $4.3 million.]

The auction proceeds will go toward the Naismith International Basketball Foundation, an organization that provides scholarships and services to underprivileged children around the world.

[Randyman]

My big labrador, Finchie, is not well. I took him to the vet on Tuesday, who diagnosed a stomach infection. He is on penicillin and I was hoping to see some improvement by now but his eyes look sickly and he is just lying around, with no alertness.

Bennie, sorry to hear about Finchie not doing well, I hope he comes around and that he will be with you many more years....

My thoughts exactly. Frank and I both lost dogs this year. Bennie, We know what you're going through. I hope Finchie comes through alright.

[THEHAMMER321]

Hey guys its friday,and nobody is talking about food.

[Randyman]

Good morning Tom and thanks for the tip about the UNLV library.

You're welcome. Like almost everything else in boxing, I learned the hard way.

Thanks Guys, Paulie, you are going way above the call of duty. On my next visit to Vegas I owe you a big dinner. What a guy!

[Randyman]

Hey guys its friday,and nobody is talking about food.

Well, I just had a plate of spaghetti with meat sauce. I topped it off with olive oil and parmesan cheese. Muy contento!

[Randyman]

Beautiful Lab, Bennie. Reminds me of Lucky only a little fuller. Seeing that picture makes me feel a bit melancholic. We still miss our old girl.

[THEHAMMER321]

Good morning Tom and thanks for the tip about the UNLV library.

You're welcome. Like almost everything else in boxing, I learned the hard way.

Thanks Guys, Paulie, you are going way above the call of duty. On my next visit to Vegas I owe you a big dinner. What a guy!

Randy you can thank me if I can come up with some info, just hope I can find some record of the fight somewhere.

[raylawpc]

One story I heard says a lot about him, I think. He was supposedly at some kind of boxing event, and a group of people had gathered around him as he regaled them with comments about the great Cuban fighters of the past. After a few minutes of this, one of his listeners piped up and said, "I haven't heard you say anything about Jose Legra." Stallone's face went blank, and it was clear he'd never heard of Legra. But instead of trying to cover up his lack of knowledge in some way, he responded, "I've never heard of him. Would you mind telling us about him?" Then he listened intently to what the man had to say, asked him a few appropriate questions, and thanked him for sharing the information. In my experience, most blowhards wouldn't do that.

It probably isn't easy being Sylvester Stallone's brother.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well since there seems to be some debate, let me just say with candor that he isn't the worst guy in the world.
He's just a common jack-ass, plain and simple.

You wrote above that he was "A good guy." I was agreeing with you - based on my limited contact with him and what I'd heard about him.

[Randyman]

You're welcome. Like almost everything else in boxing, I learned the hard way.

Thanks Guys, Paulie, you are going way above the call of duty. On my next visit to Vegas I owe you a big dinner. What a guy!

Randy you can thank me if I can come up with some info, just hope I can find some record of the fight somewhere.

Paulie, whether you find anything or not, it's your effort on my behalf that I appreciate.

[kikibalt]

I'm lookin' forward to this fight, don't know who is going to win, but I think both guys are hitting the canvas....

Amir Khan looks for success in the ring, acceptance outside it

The world champion boxer hopes a win against Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas on Saturday will raise his profile and help dispel negative images of his Muslim faith.
Amir Khan

By Lance Pugmire

December 11, 2010

Amir Khan of England will be fighting in Las Vegas on Saturday night, but not simply to defend his World Boxing Assn. junior-welterweight belt.

He's in the U.S. to also test his faith that a Muslim athlete of Pakistani heritage can win the hearts of American fans.

"Politics is a lot different than sport," Khan said last week as he hurried out of his Hollywood apartment complex to attend Friday prayers at a Los Angeles mosque. "I can break barriers with my skills and change things about the way people think of Muslims.

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"We're all equal, we're all trying to succeed and we should all get along. That's what sport does: brings people together."

His optimism is rooted in his youth — on Wednesday, he turned 24 — and in his success. At 17 he became an overnight sensation after winning the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and today is a world champion in the talent-rich, 140-pound division.

Yet he knows firsthand how in Britain, as in the U.S., the fears that come with the war on terror can be triggered in an instant, and have occasionally made him a target of vitriol just because he is Muslim.

As one online critic wrote recently on a British boxing site: "We constantly have to fear Muslims. … It's always Muslims that blow our loved one[s] up. Why on earth wouldn't we hate a guy that supports the same faith as those guys?"

Khan, who in an interview last year said if he were white "maybe I'd have been a superstar in Britain," says he no longer believes that.

"You get past that," he said of the rants directed at him online and from some fight fans when he's in the ring. "You want to prove those people wrong."

He knows winning can help do that. To that end, Khan (23-1, 17 knockouts) successfully defended his belt in his U.S. debut in May, scoring a technical knockout of Brooklyn's Paulie Malignaggi in New York. On Saturday he will face hard-punching Argentine Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KOs).

Khan is eager to own the spotlight here.

"I'm the youngest British fighter ever to defend a title in America," he said. "I want to be known all around the world. To do that, you have to fight everywhere and prove yourself."

At morning prayers last week, Khan arrived late and kneeled outside the mosque in the overflow crowd of worshippers, some of whom were aware a rising sports star was in their midst.

"A lot of bad things are happening when a lot of good things should be" the focus, said John Shiakh, 48, a Bangladesh native who prayed with the boxer at the mosque that day. "So it's nice to have someone like him from our community promoting peace and how we really are."

Time spent with Khan offered a glimpse of that. Being in the U.S. is also quality family time. On one recent day, Khan's father, Shah, and his mother, Falak, are with him. As Falak irons her son's dress clothes, Amir's brother, Haroon, 19, chats on Skype with his two sisters in England — one of whom is pregnant.

Khan heads to the kitchen but avoids the Frosted Flakes atop the refrigerator. Instead, he devours a breakfast of eggs, beans, tomatoes, mackerel and coffee. He tells of the first time he walked into a boxing gym in his hometown of Bolton, England. He was 8 and his parents were looking to provide an outlet for his hyperactive behavior.

"I had something to divert my energy and I was willing to learn," Khan said. "I loved boxing — hitting the bag, the sweaty smell, even being punched."

As he talks, it is hard to miss the plaque nearby, given to him by a friend. It reads, "May Allah give you the strength to succeed in all that you do."

"Amir's religion is his religion," said Shah Khan, who moved to Britain from Pakistan as a boy. "He stands behind it 100%. We, as Muslims, have had a lot of negativity in this country, but everybody's not the same and Islam doesn't tell you to kill people. I would hope people could believe that and point to someone like Amir and say, 'Look what he's doing.' More guys like Amir can bring people together.

"Amir sets himself goals you don't think are possible and he achieves them. Now he wants to be the best in his sport, a legend as a sportsman in this country."

Two years ago, Amir Khan looked done after losing at home to an unknown, Colombia's Breidis Prescott, who flattened Khan twice in a fight that lasted 54 seconds. Khan fired his trainer and hired Freddie Roach, the renowned teacher who has guided the ascent of Manny Pacquiao.

When Khan became world junior-welterweight champion last year, he hit a crossroads: fight in larger arenas for larger purses in Britain and the rest of Europe or head to the U.S.

Against Maidana, Khan will be relying on his ring speed but perhaps even more on his training. He spent a lot of time sparring with Pacquiao, the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

"He's the only guy I know who can keep up with Pacquiao," Roach said. "He's the best listener I've ever had. Maidana was third on my list of the three guys they presented to him to fight, but Amir said, 'I want the best one first.'"

Khan worked hard to recover his career, more than willing to bend with the ever-shifting training camps from the Philippines to Texas to Hollywood to accommodate Roach's work with Pacquiao — "never complained once," Roach said.

Salam Al-Marayati, the president of the L.A.-based Muslim Public Affairs Council, said not since Hakeem Olajuwon has a Muslim athlete been capable of such unifying impact.

"The sports arena is where the Muslim athlete is completely integrated into society as the rest of us struggle to become integrated," he said. "I remember [former Laker] Jamaal Wilkes came to our mosque here back when he was playing, telling us the best way to overcome discrimination is success — in business, sports, whatever you do. Our job is to become part of American society, and Amir Khan represents that."

Sports marketing expert David Carter of USC's Marshall School of Business has looked at Khan's career too.

"He is a long way from the big time, but if he has a clear positioning statement — this is why I'm here — and if he wins, he has a chance to exact change, even if it starts in small and incremental ways," Carter said.

"There are signs of hope. He's a young kid who might be a little naïve, but who can fault him for wanting to send a positive image? That resonates at any age."

[email protected]

[Randyman]

I have a few thoughts on Sylvester Stallone’s recent induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I think that, almost unanimously, everyone will disagree with me on this. I have absolute respect for everyone’s opinion and I don’t mean to disagree with anyone here except to say that I respectfully disagree.

I only met Sylvester Stallone once and it was a positive experience for me. It was a few days, almost thirty-five years ago, in January or February of 1976, during the filming of Rocky. It was Rocky that made Stallone into the superstar that he would later become. I didn’t know much about him then except that he was the guy that I had seen in “The Lords of Flatbush”. Rocky has since become an iconic figure and part of American Pop Culture, like; Superman, Tarzan, Popeye, Fonzie, Phillip Marlowe or any number of characters that have popped up over the years.

With Rocky, Stallone created a character that best represents the type of fighter that I admire, an underdog, with limited skills, that gives his all in the ring and never stops trying, an honest fighter that knows no other way. For Rocky, it was all about heart. If Jimmy Stewart was “Everyman” than Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky was an “Everyman Fighter”. Most of the guys that have ever stepped into the ring were unheralded, unrecognized and under appreciated. We rooted for Rocky because he was one of us. A regular Joe, someone who just wanted a shot. When I rooted for Rocky I was rooting for myself and the chance that I never got.

I can’t say anything about Stallone’s character after the movie won an Oscar. He became big, really big. I’m sure it affected him, it had to. Still maybe over the years, just like the rest of us, he learned something about himself. I saw him again in 1987, it was at the Alberto Davila vs. Frankie Duarte rematch at the Forum (a great fight, by the way), he was a few rows away from me, sitting with Elton John. People were all around him but he seemed to be a good sport about it all and was smiling for his fans. He happened to look my way and when he did I raised my right hand and said, in my best Philly accent “Hey, Yo Rocky!” He smiled and acknowledged me. He could have ignored me.

There have been other actors that have played boxers on the big screen, most notably, Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta in “The Raging Bull”, Russell Crowe as James J, Braddock in “The Cinderella Man or even Hilary Swank as “The Million Dollar Baby” and Mark Walberg and Christian Bales as brothers Mickey Ward and Dick Eklund in The Fighter” which is being released this weekend, and countless others over the years and it’s not for me to say whether they also deserve an induction or not but what separates Stallone from the rest of them is that for everyone else, it was a role, and then they moved on. For Stallone, he became a life long friend to boxing, trying to find some way to promote boxing, as he did with “The Contender”. Even if you didn’t like the show you still have to admit that Stallone was there swinging away on boxing’s behalf. The continuing saga of Rocky Balboa continued to inspire young men to become boxers. He did for boxing, what Bruce Lee did for Martial Arts. He got people interested again. To be fair, the 1976 Olympic Boxing team also made some noise that year but it takes nothing away from Rocky Balboa.

I don’t know of any other non-boxer that has done more to inspire young men to become boxers, not only across the country but across the world. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard in an interview “It was Rocky, I wanted be a boxer when I saw Rocky”. (I’m paraphrasing)

My brother Dennis worked security for the movie industries years ago. For a few days he provided security for Sylvester Stallone. Dennis only had good things to say about him.

I went to the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s website to see just what he was inducted for. He was inducted as an observer, nothing more. He is not being recognized as a fighter. His is a non-participatory induction, that’s fitting, I don’t have problem with that. I don’t know what there reasoning was for selecting Stallone, they didn’t say. I would like to think that it was for the reasons that I stated.

I was an extra in Rocky, in a very minor scene sparring with Monroe Brookes. I will forever be proud to be associated with what I consider the greatest boxing movie ever made. For some reason, I never took any photos back then during my short time in the ring but I have a snapshot of Stallone and myself. It’s my only physical proof that I was a boxer at one time in my life. I’m grateful that Stallone took the time to take that photo with me.

[THEHAMMER321]

Randy you brought up Monroe Brooks, I never met him, but I remember hanging around the golden gloves gym here in town and I was shooting the breeze with Jesse reid, Bruce Curry, Roger Mayweather, and they brought up Curry's fight with Brooks 5 years prior and how that fight was a war, did you happen to see that fight.

[raylawpc]

Great post Randy.

[kikibalt]

I have a few thoughts on Sylvester Stallone’s recent induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I think that, almost unanimously, everyone will disagree with me on this. I have absolute respect for everyone’s opinion and I don’t mean to disagree with anyone here except to say that I respectfully disagree.

I only met Sylvester Stallone once and it was a positive experience for me. It was a few days, almost thirty-five years ago, in January or February of 1976, during the filming of Rocky. It was Rocky that made Stallone into the superstar that he would later become. I didn’t know much about him then except that he was the guy that I had seen in “The Lords of Flatbush”. Rocky has since become an iconic figure and part of American Pop Culture, like; Superman, Tarzan, Popeye, Fonzie, Phillip Marlowe or any number of characters that have popped up over the years.

With Rocky, Stallone created a character that best represents the type of fighter that I admire, an underdog, with limited skills, that gives his all in the ring and never stops trying, an honest fighter that knows no other way. For Rocky, it was all about heart. If Jimmy Stewart was “Everyman” than Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky was an “Everyman Fighter”. Most of the guys that have ever stepped into the ring were unheralded, unrecognized and under appreciated. We rooted for Rocky because he was one of us. A regular Joe, someone who just wanted a shot. When I rooted for Rocky I was rooting for myself and the chance that I never got.

I can’t say anything about Stallone’s character after the movie won an Oscar. He became big, really big. I’m sure it affected him, it had to. Still maybe over the years, just like the rest of us, he learned something about himself. I saw him again in 1987, it was at the Alberto Davila vs. Frankie Duarte rematch at the Forum (a great fight, by the way), he was a few rows away from me, sitting with Elton John. People were all around him but he seemed to be a good sport about it all and was smiling for his fans. He happened to look my way and when he did I raised my right hand and said, in my best Philly accent “Hey, Yo Rocky!” He smiled and acknowledged me. He could have ignored me.

There have been other actors that have played boxers on the big screen, most notably, Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta in “The Raging Bull”, Russell Crowe as James J, Braddock in “The Cinderella Man or even Hilary Swank as “The Million Dollar Baby” and Mark Walberg and Christian Bales as brothers Mickey Ward and Dick Eklund in The Fighter” which is being released this weekend, and countless others over the years and it’s not for me to say whether they also deserve an induction or not but what separates Stallone from the rest of them is that for everyone else, it was a role, and then they moved on. For Stallone, he became a life long friend to boxing, trying to find some way to promote boxing, as he did with “The Contender”. Even if you didn’t like the show you still have to admit that Stallone was there swinging away on boxing’s behalf. The continuing saga of Rocky Balboa continued to inspire young men to become boxers. He did for boxing, what Bruce Lee did for Martial Arts. He got people interested again. To be fair, the 1976 Olympic Boxing team also made some noise that year but it takes nothing away from Rocky Balboa.

I don’t know of any other non-boxer that has done more to inspire you men to become boxers, not only across the country but across the world. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard in an interview “It was Rocky, I wanted be a boxer when I saw Rocky”. (I’m paraphrasing)

My brother Dennis worked security for the movie industries years ago. For a few days he provided security for Sylvester Stallone. Dennis only had good things to say about him.

I went to the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s website to see just what he was inducted for. He was inducted as an observer, nothing more. He is not being recognized as a fighter. His is a non-participatory induction, that’s fitting, I don’t have problem with that. I don’t know what there reasoning was for selecting Stallone, they didn’t say. I would like to think that it was for the reasons that I stated.

I was an extra in Rocky, in a very minor scene sparring with Monroe Brookes. I will forever be proud to be associated with what I consider the greatest boxing movie ever made. For some reason, I never took any photos back then during my short time in the ring but I have a snapshot of Stallone and myself. It’s my only physical proof that I was a boxer at one time in my life. I’m grateful that Stallone took the time to take that photo with me.

I never like the Rocky movies, always thought the fight scenes looked too phony... . Having said that, I don't have a problem with SS been inducted into the IBHOF if its in a non-participant category, non-participant category's are for people like SS and others, so inducted him. I too understand why he is been inducted, hall of fame's need ticket sellers, without them the halls would go south, its just a fact of life....

[Randyman]

Randy you brought up Monroe Brooks, I never met him, but I remember hanging around the golden gloves gym here in town and I was shooting the breeze with Jesse reid, Bruce Curry, Roger Mayweather, and they brought up Curry's fight with Brooks 5 years prior and how that fight was a war, did you happen to see that fight.

Yes, I did. I was hoping Brooks would win. We got to be friends after filming Rocky but I haven't seen him in over 30 years. It was one hell of a fight.


Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJoQcc8_OkM

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZCmKyZe ... re=related

Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot6Ytder ... re=related

Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot6Ytder ... re=related

Part5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tli5zKH ... re=related

Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM86modP ... re=related

Part 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awsz3vf9 ... re=related

[Randyman]

I have a few thoughts on Sylvester Stallone’s recent induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I think that, almost unanimously, everyone will disagree with me on this. I have absolute respect for everyone’s opinion and I don’t mean to disagree with anyone here except to say that I respectfully disagree.

I only met Sylvester Stallone once and it was a positive experience for me. It was a few days, almost thirty-five years ago, in January or February of 1976, during the filming of Rocky. It was Rocky that made Stallone into the superstar that he would later become. I didn’t know much about him then except that he was the guy that I had seen in “The Lords of Flatbush”. Rocky has since become an iconic figure and part of American Pop Culture, like; Superman, Tarzan, Popeye, Fonzie, Phillip Marlowe or any number of characters that have popped up over the years.

With Rocky, Stallone created a character that best represents the type of fighter that I admire, an underdog, with limited skills, that gives his all in the ring and never stops trying, an honest fighter that knows no other way. For Rocky, it was all about heart. If Jimmy Stewart was “Everyman” than Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky was an “Everyman Fighter”. Most of the guys that have ever stepped into the ring were unheralded, unrecognized and under appreciated. We rooted for Rocky because he was one of us. A regular Joe, someone who just wanted a shot. When I rooted for Rocky I was rooting for myself and the chance that I never got.

I can’t say anything about Stallone’s character after the movie won an Oscar. He became big, really big. I’m sure it affected him, it had to. Still maybe over the years, just like the rest of us, he learned something about himself. I saw him again in 1987, it was at the Alberto Davila vs. Frankie Duarte rematch at the Forum (a great fight, by the way), he was a few rows away from me, sitting with Elton John. People were all around him but he seemed to be a good sport about it all and was smiling for his fans. He happened to look my way and when he did I raised my right hand and said, in my best Philly accent “Hey, Yo Rocky!” He smiled and acknowledged me. He could have ignored me.

There have been other actors that have played boxers on the big screen, most notably, Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta in “The Raging Bull”, Russell Crowe as James J, Braddock in “The Cinderella Man or even Hilary Swank as “The Million Dollar Baby” and Mark Walberg and Christian Bales as brothers Mickey Ward and Dick Eklund in The Fighter” which is being released this weekend, and countless others over the years and it’s not for me to say whether they also deserve an induction or not but what separates Stallone from the rest of them is that for everyone else, it was a role, and then they moved on. For Stallone, he became a life long friend to boxing, trying to find some way to promote boxing, as he did with “The Contender”. Even if you didn’t like the show you still have to admit that Stallone was there swinging away on boxing’s behalf. The continuing saga of Rocky Balboa continued to inspire young men to become boxers. He did for boxing, what Bruce Lee did for Martial Arts. He got people interested again. To be fair, the 1976 Olympic Boxing team also made some noise that year but it takes nothing away from Rocky Balboa.

I don’t know of any other non-boxer that has done more to inspire you men to become boxers, not only across the country but across the world. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard in an interview “It was Rocky, I wanted be a boxer when I saw Rocky”. (I’m paraphrasing)

My brother Dennis worked security for the movie industries years ago. For a few days he provided security for Sylvester Stallone. Dennis only had good things to say about him.

I went to the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s website to see just what he was inducted for. He was inducted as an observer, nothing more. He is not being recognized as a fighter. His is a non-participatory induction, that’s fitting, I don’t have problem with that. I don’t know what there reasoning was for selecting Stallone, they didn’t say. I would like to think that it was for the reasons that I stated.

I was an extra in Rocky, in a very minor scene sparring with Monroe Brookes. I will forever be proud to be associated with what I consider the greatest boxing movie ever made. For some reason, I never took any photos back then during my short time in the ring but I have a snapshot of Stallone and myself. It’s my only physical proof that I was a boxer at one time in my life. I’m grateful that Stallone took the time to take that photo with me.

I never like the Rocky movies, always thought the fight scenes looked too phony... . Having said that, I don't have a problem with SS been inducted into the IBHOF if its in a non-participant category, non-participant category's are for people like SS and others, so inducted him. I too understand why he is been inducted, hall of fame's need ticket sellers, without them the halls would go south, its just a fact of life....

Yeah, but no fair though Frank, your sons are Frankie and Tony Baltazar, what fight scenes could measure up?

[Randyman]

Great post Randy.

Thanks Tom.

[Randyman]

Monroe Brooks vs Roberto Duran-December 8, 1978-Madison Square Garden, NY

Monroe was a hell of a fighter but he was fighting a prime Roberto Duran, Still, he gave a good account of himself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG5rzlDLyxg

[kikibalt]

I have a few thoughts on Sylvester Stallone’s recent induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I think that, almost unanimously, everyone will disagree with me on this. I have absolute respect for everyone’s opinion and I don’t mean to disagree with anyone here except to say that I respectfully disagree.

I only met Sylvester Stallone once and it was a positive experience for me. It was a few days, almost thirty-five years ago, in January or February of 1976, during the filming of Rocky. It was Rocky that made Stallone into the superstar that he would later become. I didn’t know much about him then except that he was the guy that I had seen in “The Lords of Flatbush”. Rocky has since become an iconic figure and part of American Pop Culture, like; Superman, Tarzan, Popeye, Fonzie, Phillip Marlowe or any number of characters that have popped up over the years.

With Rocky, Stallone created a character that best represents the type of fighter that I admire, an underdog, with limited skills, that gives his all in the ring and never stops trying, an honest fighter that knows no other way. For Rocky, it was all about heart. If Jimmy Stewart was “Everyman” than Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky was an “Everyman Fighter”. Most of the guys that have ever stepped into the ring were unheralded, unrecognized and under appreciated. We rooted for Rocky because he was one of us. A regular Joe, someone who just wanted a shot. When I rooted for Rocky I was rooting for myself and the chance that I never got.

I can’t say anything about Stallone’s character after the movie won an Oscar. He became big, really big. I’m sure it affected him, it had to. Still maybe over the years, just like the rest of us, he learned something about himself. I saw him again in 1987, it was at the Alberto Davila vs. Frankie Duarte rematch at the Forum (a great fight, by the way), he was a few rows away from me, sitting with Elton John. People were all around him but he seemed to be a good sport about it all and was smiling for his fans. He happened to look my way and when he did I raised my right hand and said, in my best Philly accent “Hey, Yo Rocky!” He smiled and acknowledged me. He could have ignored me.

There have been other actors that have played boxers on the big screen, most notably, Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta in “The Raging Bull”, Russell Crowe as James J, Braddock in “The Cinderella Man or even Hilary Swank as “The Million Dollar Baby” and Mark Walberg and Christian Bales as brothers Mickey Ward and Dick Eklund in The Fighter” which is being released this weekend, and countless others over the years and it’s not for me to say whether they also deserve an induction or not but what separates Stallone from the rest of them is that for everyone else, it was a role, and then they moved on. For Stallone, he became a life long friend to boxing, trying to find some way to promote boxing, as he did with “The Contender”. Even if you didn’t like the show you still have to admit that Stallone was there swinging away on boxing’s behalf. The continuing saga of Rocky Balboa continued to inspire young men to become boxers. He did for boxing, what Bruce Lee did for Martial Arts. He got people interested again. To be fair, the 1976 Olympic Boxing team also made some noise that year but it takes nothing away from Rocky Balboa.

I don’t know of any other non-boxer that has done more to inspire you men to become boxers, not only across the country but across the world. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard in an interview “It was Rocky, I wanted be a boxer when I saw Rocky”. (I’m paraphrasing)

My brother Dennis worked security for the movie industries years ago. For a few days he provided security for Sylvester Stallone. Dennis only had good things to say about him.

I went to the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s website to see just what he was inducted for. He was inducted as an observer, nothing more. He is not being recognized as a fighter. His is a non-participatory induction, that’s fitting, I don’t have problem with that. I don’t know what there reasoning was for selecting Stallone, they didn’t say. I would like to think that it was for the reasons that I stated.

I was an extra in Rocky, in a very minor scene sparring with Monroe Brookes. I will forever be proud to be associated with what I consider the greatest boxing movie ever made. For some reason, I never took any photos back then during my short time in the ring but I have a snapshot of Stallone and myself. It’s my only physical proof that I was a boxer at one time in my life. I’m grateful that Stallone took the time to take that photo with me.

I never like the Rocky movies, always thought the fight scenes looked too phony... . Having said that, I don't have a problem with SS been inducted into the IBHOF if its in a non-participant category, non-participant category's are for people like SS and others, so inducted him. I too understand why he is been inducted, hall of fame's need ticket sellers, without them the halls would go south, its just a fact of life....

Yeah, but no fair though Frank, your sons are Frankie and Tony Baltazar, what fight scenes could measure up?

[Rick Farris]

I have a few thoughts on Sylvester Stallone’s recent induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I think that, almost unanimously, everyone will disagree with me on this. I have absolute respect for everyone’s opinion and I don’t mean to disagree with anyone here except to say that I respectfully disagree.

I only met Sylvester Stallone once and it was a positive experience for me. It was a few days, almost thirty-five years ago, in January or February of 1976, during the filming of Rocky. It was Rocky that made Stallone into the superstar that he would later become. I didn’t know much about him then except that he was the guy that I had seen in “The Lords of Flatbush”. Rocky has since become an iconic figure and part of American Pop Culture, like; Superman, Tarzan, Popeye, Fonzie, Phillip Marlowe or any number of characters that have popped up over the years.

With Rocky, Stallone created a character that best represents the type of fighter that I admire, an underdog, with limited skills, that gives his all in the ring and never stops trying, an honest fighter that knows no other way. For Rocky, it was all about heart. If Jimmy Stewart was “Everyman” than Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky was an “Everyman Fighter”. Most of the guys that have ever stepped into the ring were unheralded, unrecognized and under appreciated. We rooted for Rocky because he was one of us. A regular Joe, someone who just wanted a shot. When I rooted for Rocky I was rooting for myself and the chance that I never got.

I can’t say anything about Stallone’s character after the movie won an Oscar. He became big, really big. I’m sure it affected him, it had to. Still maybe over the years, just like the rest of us, he learned something about himself. I saw him again in 1987, it was at the Alberto Davila vs. Frankie Duarte rematch at the Forum (a great fight, by the way), he was a few rows away from me, sitting with Elton John. People were all around him but he seemed to be a good sport about it all and was smiling for his fans. He happened to look my way and when he did I raised my right hand and said, in my best Philly accent “Hey, Yo Rocky!” He smiled and acknowledged me. He could have ignored me.

There have been other actors that have played boxers on the big screen, most notably, Robert DeNiro as Jake LaMotta in “The Raging Bull”, Russell Crowe as James J, Braddock in “The Cinderella Man or even Hilary Swank as “The Million Dollar Baby” and Mark Walberg and Christian Bales as brothers Mickey Ward and Dick Eklund in The Fighter” which is being released this weekend, and countless others over the years and it’s not for me to say whether they also deserve an induction or not but what separates Stallone from the rest of them is that for everyone else, it was a role, and then they moved on. For Stallone, he became a life long friend to boxing, trying to find some way to promote boxing, as he did with “The Contender”. Even if you didn’t like the show you still have to admit that Stallone was there swinging away on boxing’s behalf. The continuing saga of Rocky Balboa continued to inspire young men to become boxers. He did for boxing, what Bruce Lee did for Martial Arts. He got people interested again. To be fair, the 1976 Olympic Boxing team also made some noise that year but it takes nothing away from Rocky Balboa.

I don’t know of any other non-boxer that has done more to inspire young men to become boxers, not only across the country but across the world. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard in an interview “It was Rocky, I wanted be a boxer when I saw Rocky”. (I’m paraphrasing)

My brother Dennis worked security for the movie industries years ago. For a few days he provided security for Sylvester Stallone. Dennis only had good things to say about him.

I went to the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s website to see just what he was inducted for. He was inducted as an observer, nothing more. He is not being recognized as a fighter. His is a non-participatory induction, that’s fitting, I don’t have problem with that. I don’t know what there reasoning was for selecting Stallone, they didn’t say. I would like to think that it was for the reasons that I stated.

I was an extra in Rocky, in a very minor scene sparring with Monroe Brookes. I will forever be proud to be associated with what I consider the greatest boxing movie ever made. For some reason, I never took any photos back then during my short time in the ring but I have a snapshot of Stallone and myself. It’s my only physical proof that I was a boxer at one time in my life. I’m grateful that Stallone took the time to take that photo with me.

Based on a lot of experience with Sylvester Stallone, I believe he should be boiled in oil!
But "Rocky" was a great movie. Stallone is a brilliant screenwriter/producer/actor, no doubt.
As a human being, Sylvester Stallone is a Horse's Ass!
Ask not the fan, ask the people who have worked more than one day with him.
If you guys only had an idea what some people are like, you wouldn't be so quick to defend him.
As for taking a photo with you, Randy. See if he'll pose with you for one today, even though he is yesterday's news.
This guy is one of the worst. Period. End of subject. He's wasted enough space on this forum.

[scartissue]

Monroe Brooks vs Roberto Duran-December 8, 1978-Madison Square Garden, NY

Monroe was a hell of a fighter but he was fighting a prime Roberto Duran, Still, he gave a good account of himself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG5rzlDLyxg

Randy, I saw Brooks fight several times and he really used to infuriate me. When he wanted to box he was dazzling but it was as if he wanted to be a slugger so bad. His fight with Adolfo Viruet was there for the taking. After a rough start he was sweeping the middle rounds by outslicking the methodical Viruet, but then went looking for the KO and let the fight get away from him. In the Curry fight, again went looking to take Curry's head off. Of course, there was bad blood between the two. I still laugh thinking of Gil Clancy, interviewing the two fighters after the fight, and Brooks saying on National TV, "I know there was some bad shit between us...". But Brooks had the tools and didn't use them. Didn't Jackie McCoy train him for a time???

Scartissue